Captain Nicholas Nava recently took command of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 53rd Signal Battalion, U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As a logistician (90A) by Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Nava chose to go into the space domain last year while stationed with the 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
Disillusioned with his desk job as a credit consultant, Nava enlisted in the Utah Army National Guard at age 34 in 2006 as an avionics mechanic in the 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, working on UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
He wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps, who served 33 years in both the Air Force and Army.
Nava deployed to Iraq in 2008 to 09, and made sergeant before he commissioned as a second lieutenant at Weber State University in 2010 and joined the active-duty Army.
He became a quartermaster thereafter and shipped off to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, for three years, then to Fort Lee, Virginia, as a company executive officer. After a stint in school for his captain’s career course, the Army sent him to Camp Humphreys, South Korea, for two years before transitioning to 1st Space Brigade as the assistant brigade supply officer.
Not long thereafter he was selected for his current command.
Nava said he looks forward to the 53rd transitioning to the U.S. Space Force under his command.
“That’s one of my top priorities I will be focusing on during my tenure,” Nava said. “And making sure that my Soldiers are well taken care of and are led as best they can.”
Nava said he enjoys being part of the Army Space, specifically SATOPS.
The technological aspects of SATOPS and the support that it emulates not only for its own mission, but for the mission of the Army is very appealing,” Nava said. “And I am very excited and proud to be a part of it.”
Nava is married to Hannah Kim-Nava, a South Korean national, and has two children: Sion and Hayeop.
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